California, China defy U.S. climate retreat with new cleantech tie-up

Source: Reuters



Tue Jun 6, 2017 | 7:39am EDT

By Michael Martina | BEIJING
California said it would cooperate with China on clean technology, emissions trading and other "climate-positive" efforts in a bid to fill a gap left after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris climate accord last week.

The government of California and China's Ministry of Science and Technology will work together to develop and commercialize know-how on carbon capture and storage, clean energy, and information technology to rein in greenhouse gases, according to a Tuesday statement.

President Trump's announcement of the pull-out from the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change was branded as "insane" by California governor Jerry Brown, who was visiting China this week. The withdrawal decision was seen to have handed the political and diplomatic initiative to China, which has continued to pledge its unqualified support for the accord.

The failure of leadership by the United States was "only temporary", Brown told reporters on the sidelines of a clean energy forum in Beijing on Tuesday, adding that science and the market would be required to get past it.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-usa-climatechange-idUSKBN18X068